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Pierfrancesco Chili
Pierfrancesco 'Frankie' Chili, (born 20 June 1964 in Bologna, Italy) is a former motorcycle racer who competed in the Superbike World Championship and the 250 cc and 500 cc classes in Grand Prix. In September 2020 he confirmed he was suffering from Parkinson's disease.[1] In the World Superbike championship he had a record number of starts, as well as 10 poles and 17 wins. He retired at the end of the 2006 season. Chili also won the 125cc European Championship in 1985. 500 ccChili spent several years on a Gallina HB Honda, with some works backing. He won the 1989 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix when most of the top riders didn't race due to the track being too slippery due to rain, but was generally upper-midfield at best. His best championship finish was 6th in 1989. 250 ccHe stepped down to 250s, finishing 3rd overall in 1992.[2] Superbike World ChampionshipHe switched to the Superbike World Championship in 1995 on a private Ducati, taking a win at Monza and 3 further podiums, as well as the fastest lap in four races, en route to eighth overall. Curiously, in each of 1995-1997 he won race two at Monza after crashing in race one. In 1996 he took two wins as well as his first two poles, coming sixth in the championship. He was seventh-placed in 1997, taking three wins and three poles but only three more podiums. Results in 1998 on a factory Ducati were an improvement - Chili won five races to come fourth place overall, his best ever finish.[3] However, at Assen he battled too hard with Carl Fogarty (also on a factory-backed bike, although a separate team), falling on the final lap, and was sacked at the end of the year. In 1999 he raced for Suzuki, coming sixth with two more wins. His first win came in race two at the A1-Ring, after crashing while leading the first race. In 2000 he repeated the ten podiums and fourth place overall of 1998, although with only a single win as Colin Edwards dominated. Over the next two years he made the podium just three times, coming seventh and eighth in the series. Although he was only seventh again, 2003 represented something of a resurgence for a rider nearing forty years of age; with five third places and one win. The year 2004 was even better for the PSG-1 Ducati team, fifth overall with another nine podiums. In 2005 he moved to the Klaffi Honda team with rookie Max Neukirchner, coming tenth overall. 2006 was ruined by a broken pelvis, which caused him to miss several races.[4] Following his retirement he became team manager of the Guandalini Racing team in World Superbikes for the 2009 season[5] Career statisticsGrand Prix motorcycle racingRaces by year(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Superbike World ChampionshipRaces by year(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pierfrancesco Chili.
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